Second 'Air Flotilla' to be Stopped

Security officials say foreign anti-Israel activists seeking to attend protests in Yesha this weekend will be denied entry and deported

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Gabe Kahn, 10/04/12 20:02

Ben Gurion Airport

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Officials in Jerusalem vowed on Tuesday to stop hundreds of anti-Israel activists from entering Israel over the weekend.

The activists plan to board flights for Ben Gurion international airport with the aim of participating in anti-Israel demonstrations in Judea and Samaria.

While they insist the demonstrations they plan to participate in will be nonviolent, anti-Israel demonstrations in the region frequently turn into riots.

Irrespective of the nature of the protests the activists plan to attend, Israeli leaders say the campaign is a provocation.

Minister or Public Security Yitzhak Aharonovitch said Tuesday the "provocateurs will be dealt with in a determined and quick way."

He explained that the activists would be stopped at the airport and immediately deported.

"If they arrive to Israel they will be identified, removed from the plane, their entry into Israel will be prevented and they will be moved to a detention facility until they are flown out of Israel," Aharonovitch said.

His office said that security officials had tracked the activists on social media sites, compiled a blacklist of more than 300 names and asked airlines to keep those on the list off flights to Israel.

Last July, Israel blocked a similar effort by preventing scores of activists from boarding Tel Aviv-bound flights in Europe, questioning dozens more upon arrival at the airport and denying entry to 69.